Today, on the French Chef!

This year my wife and I flew to Germany for twelve days, followed by another three days in Paris.  For the flight over, we picked up two books: Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdaine and My Life in France by Julia Child.  Because my wife has just started culinary school (which causes me jealousy to no end), we've really ramped up our unabashed "foodie" status.  Hey, at least one of us will be a professional, and I suppose that makes me half a professional in the same way I'm jokingly half Australian now.

I never really knew much about Julia Child other than some vague memories of her speaking (I thought she was British...) and being an old-school culinary TV personality.  I never attributed much worth to her show or cooking, for whatever reason.  Perhaps because so many TV personalities these days, like Rachel Ray, don't really inspire awe or even interest.

The book was a little slow to begin, and often read like I was reading a paper for school-work, but I slowly began to get a glimpse at a woman who was really quite remarkable.  She hadn't begun cooking until her mid to late thirties.  She was obsessed with food and was, in all adoration, a complete geek when it came to cooking.  She thrust herself into a major culinary academy and pushed herself to become a legitimate and accomplished home cook.  And she happened to write an absolute tome of French Cooking.

Here was someone who found her passion later in life than most people think they could.  Not only that, but she turned her passion into something that had a profound impact on the world around her, mostly through hard work and determination.  

I always enjoyed watching "Good Eats" with Alton Brown due to his scientific take on cooking.  By learning the science behind what you were doing, you quickly learned the "hows" and "whys" of what you were cooking, and that sort of knowledge readily applied itself to other meals and methods you might be using later on.  In the same way, I always enjoyed watching or reading America's Test Kitchen for their scientific experiments on which tomato paste was the best, or how to make the best roast.  They didn't do it by hearsay, they simply tried the recipe quite a few different ways and determined what they liked the most.  In the same way, Julia Child took a scientific approach to her cooking.  She always wanted to know why something failed to turn out correctly, or if old methods based on seeming superstition actually carried any weight.  The sheer amount of time and effort she put into her recipes made her confident that they not only worked, but worked well.

If you haven't seen Julia, you should definitely take a look.  And pick up "Mastering the Art of French Cooking"; it's sure to be at your local library no matter where you are.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Another recipe from Julia Child. I used half common crimini and half "fried chicken" mushrooms that we picked up from the farmers' market on the weekend. I don't know why they call them "fried chicken" mushrooms (and neither did the vendor)!

This produces a really rich and warm soup with good meaty bits of mushroom for bite. Make sure to skim the soup to remove any film that collects at the surface. You'll end up with a much prettier end result if you take the few moments to do it.

Serves 6-8

• 5 tbspn butter
• 3 tbspn flour
• 1/4 cup minced onions
• 6 cups white, chicken, or vegetable stock (boiling)
• 2 parsley sprigs
• 1/3 bay leaf
• 1/8 tspn thyme
• Stems from 1 lb. fresh mushrooms (roughly cut)
• Heads from 1 lb. fresh mushrooms (thinly sliced)
• 1 tpsn lemon juice
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup whipping cream

Slowly cook the onions in 3 tbpsn of butter until they are tender and translucent. Add the flour and cook for another few minutes, being careful not to let it brown. Take the onions off heat and add boiling stock, blending it with the flour. Add the mushroom stems and season to taste.

Simmer this, partially covered, for at least 20 minutes. Skim off cruft that floats to the surface. Strain the liquid through a sieve and press the juices out of the stems. Discard the stems, then return the liquid to the pan.

In a separate saucepan, melt 2 tbspn of butter. Once foaming, add mushroom caps, a pinch of salt, and lemon juice. Cover this and let it cook for 5 minutes.

Pour the mushrooms and all juices into the main soup liquid. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Beat together the egg yolks and cream. Very slowly, add a spoonful of the yolk/cream mixture to the soup. Doing this too quickly can curdle the yolks, so you'll need to let it integrate with time. Let the completed soup heat for a few minutes, but do not let it come to a simmer.

If desired, add a little butter as a final step before serving.

From: "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck

French Onion Soup

There's a whole post stewing in my brain about Julia Child.  After reading her book about her time in France while traveling through Germany and Paris, I have a new-found appreciation for the woman who was hitherto just a funny voice on an old show before my time.

I've been pouring through the tome that is "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and decided to take a crack at the old classic, French Onion Soup.

Unfortunately, I didn't quite have the right bread or cheese to properly cap-off and melt over the ramekin, but that'll be saved for next time.  If I can find the classic little dishes they serve this in, I'll have to secure a couple which will sit unused 364 days of the year in our cupboard.

Julia's recipe calls for both dry white wine and cognac.  Not having either, I ended up using a Muscat wine and brandy (which I was assured is a close enough match to cognac).  Unfortunately, I ended up with a wine-heavy taste that overpowered all the work I did to get the onions into a nice, rich brown state.  Using vegetable broth instead of beef probably also worked against me a little.  

Still, it was a cold day and the meal was well appreciated.

French Onion Soup

• 1.5 lbs or about 5 cups of thinly sliced yellow onions
• 3 tbspn. butter
• 1 tbspn. oil
• 3 tbspn. flour
• 2 quarts brown stock
• 1/2 cup dry white wine

Cook the onions slowly in the oil and butter in a covered 4 quart saucepan for 15 minutes.

Raise to a medium heat and stir in 1 tspn. salt and 1/4 tspn. sugar.  Cook for about 40 minutes or until the onions have turned a deep brown.  You don't need to stir too often until the onions have released most of their moisture and will begin to burn if not watched.  You can hear the sizzle change from a moist to dry.

Sprinkle in the flour and cook for 3 minutes.

Take the onions off heat and add the stock (boiling).  Add the wine and season to taste.  Make sure you use a wooden spoon to deglazed the onion bits burnt to the bottom of the pan.  Simmer partially covered for about 40 minutes.  Skim off fat and debris.

Just before serving, add the cognac.